Wordsmith
by ap-q-n
Summary: Short drabbles, most of them being under 300 words. Each chapter is separate. Caskett & more.
1. Scrambling

**Author's Note:**_ This story will consist of less-than-300-word drabbles, mostly about Castle/Beckett but sometimes not. Each will have a one word prompt (or, at least, usually one word). Will be updated regularly._

* * *

"**Scrambling"**

**Characters: **Rick Castle, Kate Beckett

**Spoilers: **I guess you can say "Always", but it could also stand away from it.

**Prompt: Pancakes**

Rick Castle bounces around the kitchen, throwing ingredients here and bring plates there. Coffee is brewing, bacon is sizzling, eggs are scrambling. His deep concentration in his cooking lets her sneak up on him.

"I see you're following Esposito's edible way of saying, 'Thank you _so_ much for last night'?"

He turns around quickly, a bit of egg flying off the spatula and onto the counter. Ignoring the food, Castle makes his way over to Kate. "Good morning." He places a soft kiss on her lips.

"Good morning to you too, writer boy, but I think the pancakes are burning," she whispers back.

"Oh!" he all but yelps, scrambling back to flip the pancakes and turn off the stove as they both laugh.


	2. Lovely Murder

"**Lovely Murder"**

**Characters: **Rick Castle, Kate Beckett

**Note: **Castle and Beckett are together.

**Prompt: Whiteboard**

Castle waits on his chair, tapping out an unsteady beat on his knee. He had arrived late today because he had some quick plans with Alexis, so Beckett had already gone to question a friend of the victim without him. Esposito and Ryan were also out of the bullpen, probably canvassing some place or questioning some more people or just having a lunch break.

Ten minutes pass, and Castle is quickly getting bored. He doodles on some of the neon green sticky notes he leaves on Beckett's desk, scribbling notes from Nikki Heat plots to not-appropriate-for-work jokes. He suddenly stops.

Instead, he decides to do something else.

And later, Kate has to try really hard not to smile when she sees the little red heart doodled in the corner of the murder board.


	3. Words from the Faded

"**Words from the Faded"**

**Characters: **Kate Beckett, Johanna Beckett, mentions of Rick Castle

**Spoilers: **Vague mentions of "Knockout"/"Rise".

**Note:** Takes place anytime after "Rise" and before "47 Seconds".

**Prompt: Mother's Day**

"Happy Mother's Day, Mom."

Kate stands quietly in front of her mother's headstone, carrying a small bouquet of colorful flowers. She feels that being here today feels different than the previous Mother's Days. She sets down the flowers, arranging them slightly to sit up against the stone.

"I miss you." She sighs. Kate looks up and sees a bright blue sky with no clouds, singing birds and some other people in the distance visiting their own loved ones.

"I wish you were here, because I want you to meet someone." She reaches out and touches the stone with the tips of fingers ever so lightly. "You know Castle? Rick Castle. I wish you would get to meet him. He's my partner, and – and I don't think I can ask for a better one. He helps me, Mom. He helps me live again, to not fall into the rabbit hole again.

"And – that wall that I have in my heart, I think it's coming down. He's breaking it down, Mom. When… when I got shot, he told me he loved me." Kate sighs again, tears threatening to escape her eyes.

"And I think I love him too," she whispers, a small smile forming on her lips.

She can almost feel Johanna sitting next to her, smiling at her with an arm around her shoulders, telling her, "Go to him, Katie."

So she does.


	4. Forgotten Errands

"**Forgotten Errands"**

**Characters:** Rick Castle, Alexis Castle

**Prompt: Ice Cream**

"Dad!"

Rick jumps at the sudden yell from Alexis and bangs his knees under the table. He hisses and hastily saves the document he'd been writing. She sounds angry.

He slowly shuffles out into the living room, and sees her in the kitchen with her head stuck into the freezer. When Alexis hears her father's footsteps, she whirls around, slamming the fridge door shut.

"Dad!"

Rick feels uncomfortable. Why is she so mad? "Wh-What?"

"What's wrong with you, Dad?"

"I… I – what?"

"How could you forget?" she scolds, shoving a finger into his face.

He raises two hands, portraying innocence. "…Forget what?"

"_The ice cream!"_

Castle's eyes widen, and he slowly brings down his hands. "I'm so sorry, I just got sucked in to my writing, and I forgot the time, and you know how when I write the time flies, and I sort of forgot and – "

"Dad," Alexis interrupts his rambling, more gently this time. "It's okay. Just – next time, remember to do your errands before working on your books on our movie nights, 'kay?"


	5. Tease

"**Tease"**

**Characters:** Rick Castle, Kate Beckett

**Note: **It's your choice whether you want established Caskett in this chapter or not.

**Prompt: Running**

"Keep up, Castle!"

He can see her sprinting ahead like a rocket, weaving between the occasional person on the almost-empty sidewalk. He's tired. They've been jogging for almost an hour now, and he is surprised at how out-of-shape he is. He thought that he had been getting better, but – maybe not.

Castle slows down to a stop, bending over with his hands on his knees, panting. Kate turns around with a bright smile – the one that's brimming with joy and shows all her teeth.

"You sure you can do it?" she teases, running back to him.

He takes a couple more deep breaths, lifting up a finger to ask for a moment. Finally, he looks her in the eye and breathes, "You have no idea."


	6. Annoying Birds

"**Annoying Birds"**

**Characters: **Rick Castle, Kate Beckett

**Prompt: Cellphone**

"Castle."

He looks up; she is definitely not amused. But then again, she's usually not in a good mood when he sticks around for paperwork and doesn't do anything. Rick stares at his partner with wide, innocent eyes. "Yes, Beckett?"

"You mind?"

"What do you mean?" He can tell she is getting angrier and angrier by the second.

"Your phone. Stop it. It's annoying the crap out of me," Beckett growls, pointing an angry finger toward the faulty iPhone of his.

Yep, she's all angry. A woman full of rage. He kind of likes it.

"But, I'm not doing anything," the writer replies, not daring to look away from her eyes. He sits as still as possible. Less sudden movements equals less sudden attacks. He thinks it's a good idea to stay motionless. Doesn't want to attract the wasp, right?

Beckett lets out a huff. Her eyes narrow. He's sure this is not a good sign. But suddenly, her gaze softens, and this is totally not what he was expecting. Not from Kate, at least. "Just – please. For a few minutes. Let me finish my paperwork. In silence," she adds.

Castle blinks, startled from the sudden softness of the normally stoic NYPD detective. "Okay," he answers, and tilts his head, smirk back upon his lips. "Though, it's just Angry Birds."

She looks away, clearly irritated again. "Angry Birds? More like Annoying Birds. Just shut up. And turn off your phone before I make you do it."

"As you wish."


End file.
